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Developments in robotics

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Japanese technology group Murata Manufacturing's robots, the bike-riding Murata Boy (l.) and unicycling Murata Girl are seen. Electronic eyes made of ultrasonic sensors tell the robots when they are about to bump into something and their robotic brains help them change direction. The robots can be also be guided by humans using bluetooth technology found in phones and computers. Splash News/Newscom

Honda's brain activity measuring helmet and device are worn by a man who uses them to control an ASIMO robot by human thought alone. Inventors of the technology envision future applications like turning on your home air conditioner or opening doors. Business Wire

Robots play soccer during the 'RoboCup German Open 2009' at the Hannover Messe industrial trade fair in Hanover, Germany on April 21. The world's leading fair for industrial technology will host about 6,100 exhibitors from 61 nations. The ultimate goal of the RoboCup project is, by 2050, develop a team of fully autonomous humanoid robots that can win against the human world champion team in soccer. Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

Toyota Motor Corp.'s violin robot performs during a press unveiling in Tokyo on Dec. 6, 2007. Compared to a virtuoso, its rendition was a trifle stilted and, well, robotic. But Toyota's new robot plays a pretty solid 'Pomp and Circumstance' on the violin. The five-foot-tall all-white robot used its mechanical fingers to push the strings correctly and bowed with its other arm, coordinating the movements well. Katsumi Kasahara/AP

The gap between artificial and human intelligence is getting narrower, thanks to a technological breakthrough by British engineers. The first 'humanoid' robot who can mimic a real person's expressions merely by watching their face has been developed. Videos have been released showing 'Jules' - a disembodied androgynous robotic head, controlled only by computer software. Engineers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) have created software that allows Jules to mimic the facial expressions of human beings observed through a video camera. Splash News/Newscom

Women make up a humanoid robot called EveR-3 of the Korea Academy of Industrial Technology (Kaitech), for a show at the Hanover industrial fair in Hanover, Germany, on April 19. New versions of the EveR series will be able to walk, sing, dance, and have 'substantially improved intelligence.' Joerg Sarbach/AP

A man is disarmed by a robot outside a Wells Fargo bank he tried to rob in Tucson, Ariz., in 2005. Police said Sgt. Jeffry Leon Lewis Jr., 33, an Army sergeant from Fort Huachuca, walked into the bank branch here Monday and presented a note saying he had a bomb in his mouth, which was covered in duct tape. Lewis was quickly arrested and no explosives were found in his mouth or backpack or in his vehicle parked nearby. Benjie Sanders/Arizona Daily Star/AP

Tokyo Agriculture and Technology University student Gohei Yamamoto wears a power-assist suit while pulling a white radish from the ground for a demonstration of the prototype robot suit for elderly agriculture workers, in Tokyo on January 9. Tokyo professor Shigeki Toyama (not pictured) developed the power suit 'Wearable Agrirobot' which reduces the strength needed for a farm worker in harvesting and pruning. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Newscom

Robot designers assemble 'Rong Cheng,' a newly-created robot, at the Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing in August 2006. Rong Cheng, dubbed as the first Chinese 'beauty' robot, is able to respond to some 1,000 Chinese words. She can dance, bow and greet people in the Sichuan dialect and is destined for the Sichuan Science Museum to serve as a receptionist. The robot costs about 300,000 yuan (US$37,500) to make, according to Xinhua News. Claro Cortes IV/Reuters

The robot fish, who swims in the water like the real fish, at the China Hi-Tech Fair in Shenzhen, China on October 12, 2008. This fair exhibits various robots for everyday life, industry, and other special uses. CNImaging/Newscom

Professor Darwin Caldwell at Manchester University with iCub Robot, one of the most advanced humanoid robots in the world. The iCub is a joint project by the RobotCub Consortium, made up of several European universities. The project's software is developed as an open-source project. Newscom

A 'cybernetic human' HRP-4C, designed to look like an average Japanese woman, looks surprised by opening its mouth and eyes in reaction during a demonstration in Tsukuba, near Tokyo, on March 16. The humanoid robot trimmed down to 43 kilograms (95 pounds) to make a debut at a fashion show later in the month. Koji Sasahara/AP

This combo picture shows an engineer from Japan's Honda Motors demonstrates a walking assist device with a body weight support system at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on November 7, 2008. The 14 lb. device, consisting of a saddle, leg-like frames and shoes is designed to help the elderly climb stairs and allow factory workers to reduce heavy labor in assembly lines. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Newscom

Japanese electronics giant Toshiba introduces the prototype housekeeping robot 'ApriAttenda' which is able to open doors of a refrigerator and pick up a box during a demonstration at the company's laboratory in Kasawaki, Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo on March 11. The robot has wired controlled hands with three fingers and small CCD cameras in the palms of its hands. Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Newscom

Honda's ASIMO humanoid robot focused conducts the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's music programs for young people as it performs 'Impossible Dream' to open a special concert performance with renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma on May 13, 2008. Business Wire